Book excerpt: The second edition of this standard-setting handbook provides and all-encompassing reference for the practicing engineer in industry, government, and academia, with relevant background and up-to-date information on the most important topics of modern mechanical engineering. These topics include modern manufacturing and design, robotics, computer engineering, environmental engineering, economics, patent law, and communication/information systems. The final chapter and appendix provide information regarding physical properties and mathematical and computational methods. New topics include nanotechnology, MEMS, electronic packaging, global climate change, electric and hybrid vehicles, and bioengineering.